HAMMOND, La. — After battling back from an 11-point deficit to tie the game early in the fourth quarter, Central Arkansas faltered in the final moments as Southeastern Louisiana went on an 11-2 run in the final two minutes to pull away, dealing the Sugar Bears a 62-53 defeat on Saturday.
The Sugar Bears (5-7, 0-2 Southland) had trailed by as many as 11 in the third quarter before rallying early in the fourth quarter – getting consecutive three-point plays from Keturah Bingham and Taylor Sells and an Alana Canady jumper to draw even at 41 with 7:34 to play. The Sugar Bears never got over the hump, but still found themselves trailing the Lady Lions (6-7, 1-1) by just two with 2:11 to go after another bucket from Bingham.
But from that point, it was all Southeastern as the Lady Lions made seven free throws and a pair of field goals down the stretch while holding the Sugar Bears to a pair of field goals and three turnovers to defeat Central Arkansas for the second straight season in the University Center.
Bingham had season highs of 14 points and 7 rebounds for the Sugar Bears, while Canady had 8 and 6. Kamry Orr added 7 points and 3 rebounds and tied Maddie Goodner for the team lead with 4 assists. Taylor Sells added.5 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists' and Antonija Bozic – in her second game of the season after returning from a stress fracture – had 6 points.
Southeastern was led by Celica Sterling's 20 points; a 12-point, 10-rebound outing from Caitlyn Williams; and 13 points from Jaclyn Scholvin.
The Sugar Bears shot just 32.7 percent (18 of 55) from the field, but continued their success at the free throw line – hitting 14 of 15 (93.3 percent), bringing their three-game total to 39 of 44 (88.6 percent).
Southeastern didn't fare much better overall, shooting 36.5 percent – but outscored the Sugar Bears at the free throw line – going 17 of 24 – and knocked down 7 of 17 from 3-point range, compared to the Sugar Bears' 3-for-11.
The Lady Lions also capitalized heavily on Sugar Bear miscues, scoring 20 points off 14 Central Arkansas turnovers. The Sugar Bears had 6 on 11 Lady Lion turnovers.
The Sugar Bears were playing without sophomore forward Mekaylan Hicks for the second straight game due to a concussion, though she is expected to return to action next week when the Sugar Bears hit the road to take on Sam Houston State on Wednesday and Lamar on Saturday.
Following the three-game road swing, the Sugar Bears return to the Farris Center on Jan. 16 against Incarnate Word and Jan. 19 against Nicholls.
